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France: St-Emilion

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

A's grandmother grew up here, father was born here, nanny was born here. It may be flooding with tourists nowadays, but back then it was a sleepy small town, where everyone knew each other, the neighbours and shopkeepers alike.

The charming stone historic buildings with mixed dates from 12th-17th centuries, red tile roofs and steep cobblestone walkways, are surrounded by lush green vineyards of varying grades and vastness. It's easy to see why the tourists visit this town from all over the world.

There are 12 'unmissable' historic monuments in the medieval town of St-Emilion. We were able to visit or pass by many of them.

For a small fee of 2.50 euros we were given the key to the bell tower. 196 steps later, from the top of St-Emilion, you get a private panoramic view of the town. A pointed out a few important vineyards in the area, including his grandparents' chateaux.

Below the bell tower is the monolithic church of St-Emilion, built in varying styles of 12-16th centuries. The church is built from a single piece of stone. It's the tallest in Europe, and is very impressive.

Gothic and Roman styles live side by side in the architecture and art styles here and there. Outside there are traces of the walls that used to surround the medieval city. Ruins of convent and monastery stirs up imaginations of what life would have been like then..